The Only Good Thing
by Katilyn
Summary: Jack and Kate must survive through kidnappings, wars, and much more. JK. It's better than it sounds.


Chapter One: The Only Good Thing on the Island

Jack sighed and lay down on the beach. He was stressed out and tired. It felt nice to have a moment alone.

Jack's eyes slowly turned towards Kate. He felt the familiar tingle that always shot up his body when he looked at her. Jack wished more than anything that he could tell her that he loved her. Kate was the thing that made Jack not give up. She was the only good thing on the damn island.

Kate was gazing at the ocean which she often did.

"Boone and I were going out hunting. We found some boar prints and we seem to be running low on boar meat." Kate turned around and took the knife and water that Locke was holding out to her.

"Sure." Kate tied her hair up in the messy, attractive ponytail that always made Jack speechless. Kate was such a beautiful girl.

Locke, Boone, and Kate disappeared out of sight. Jack sighed again and thought about her, wondering what kissing her would be like.

Chapter 2: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

After the hunt was over, Kate walked to her favorite place. She leaned on the huge tree and picked a flower. Kate's sister always did the "he loves me, he loves me not" thing when she dated guys. Kate smiled, but it quickly disappeared as she thought about what happened to her sister.

"He loves me." She ripped off a petal. "He loves me not." Another petal. "He loves me." Another petal. One by one, she tore off the petals until there weren't anymore. He loves me, Kate thought. She came to her senses when the bushes behind her started to rustle. Her head whipped around as Jack came into sight.

"Just me, no Ethan." Jack smiled. "Sorry to startle you." Thank God I wasn't saying it out loud, Kate thought.

"I was wondering if you came back with any boar meat." Jack's stomach rumbled on cue.

"We got some. A lot. I'll bring you some at the caves, k?" Jack nodded his thanks and headed back.

Jack was arranging his medicines. Kate walked towards him and tossed him a slab of boar meat and a guava fruit. "Thought you could use some food."

Kate smiled her 100 watt smile. Jack thanked her for the food. They chatted for a while and by the time they finished their conversation, it was late.

"I don't want you to be walking back to your place alone," Jack said.

"You're gonna walk me back? Thanks."

"Well...I was sorta hoping you would stay here."

"Sure, if you don't mind." Jack tried to calm himself, but he couldn't help but smile when Kate turned around. Jack handed her an airplane blanket and pillow.

"Thanks, Jack." They settled down on the ground. Jack scooted closer and closer to Kate. When he decided he probably shouldn't move any closer, he went to sleep dreaming of Kate.

Chapter 3

Jack woke up before Kate did. He smiled and kissed her cheek. Kate looked so much like an angel. Jack wanted so badly to understand her and to know who made her this way.

Locke walked into the caves. "Oh, I see Kate's not awake. Usually she wakes up very early." Locke turned back to Sayid.(A/N: In this, Boone's dead, but Shannon isn't all sad, and Jack isn't trying to kill Locke.)

"What did you need from her?" Jack asked.

"We were wondering if she had time to go hunting," Sayid replied.

"Should I tell her when she wakes up?"

"Sure. Tell her we'll be by Hunter's Rock."

"Where's Hunter's Rock?"

Locke smiled. "Hunter's secret." They walked away.  
----------   
Kate woke up about fifteen minutes later.

"Good morning," she said and smiled at Jack. Jack couldn't help but grin when he saw that smile.

"Good morning," Jack said. Then he remembered Locke's message. "Locke wanted to know if you could go hunting."

Kate asked where she should meet them, took her backpack, and left.

When she was out of sight, he leaned down and smelled the pillow that she used. Jack loved the smell of Kate's hair. He sighed and dreamed of Kate like he always did.

Chapter 4

Jack was doing his daily check-up of the survivors when he saw Kate approach. Her arm was covered in blood.

"Kate! Kate, what happened to you?" Jack frantically led her to the caveds which were close by.

"I guess the island has grizzly bears too." Kate shrugged. "Grizzly bears with claws that fall out easily." Jack saw that a claw was lodged into her upper arm.

Jack washed his hands and started to pull out the claw. Kate winced but didn't say anything. The claw slipped out and immediately Jack covered the wound with a towel.

"Can you reach that bottle of peroxide?" Kate leaned over and handed it to him. Kate winced again as Jack cleaned it. Her arm was then wrapped in a white bandage.

"Kate, why did the grizzly bear attack you?"

"Um, usually when you try and kill something, they fight back," she replied casually.

"So, Locke and Sayid just stood there like idiots while that damn bear clawed at you!" Jack fumed. His cheeks were turning red with rage.

"What sort of people do you think they are? They were the ones who killed the bear and prevented it from doing worse damage, Jack."

"Kate, just...just you need to be more careful when you hunt," Jack didn't know what to say.

Kate gave him a look and left. 

"Ergh, dammit Jack! How am I supposed to find a good time to kiss her if you're always saying...saying wrong things?" Jack silently cursed himself. He took a few deep breaths when he heard the bushes rustle.

"Hey, Mr. Jack! Look, look at what I can draw! I can draw you!" Walt skipped right next to Jack and drew a little cartoon picture of a doctor.

"That's very good, Walt! Did you take cartooning classes before we crashed?"

Walt sighed. "No, it's just so boring. A few days ago Kate gave me some cartooning books she found, said it would help me pass the time. When I had nothin' else to do, I tried it."

"Oh, I see. It's cool, Walt! Have you shown your father?"

"Nope! I'm gonna show him right now! Bye!" Walt skipped off.

Okay, I take back what I said about Locke and Boone and Shannon and all that stuff. Boone just died, Shannon IS sad, Jack and Locke HAVE formed sides, you know.

This chapter takes place when Jack and Locke have decided to form sides. The survivors haven't decided which side they want to be on yet.

Chapter 5- Jack or the Right Side?

"Hey, Kate!" Claire called to Kate. Kate slid down the tree trunk to Claire.

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow, we have to decide which side we're on. Ya know, the Boone War."

"The Boone War?" Kate asked. What in heck was the Boone War? she thought.

"Isn't this fight over Boone's death? Most survivors are calling this dispute the Boone War. I don't know the details, like who's leading the sides, ya know."

"I haven't heard much about it. Locke and Jack are leading the sides. Jack's accusing Locke of hurting Boone on purpose."

"Wait, JACK is leading that side? I am SO on Locke's side!" Claire declared.

"I know, crazy. I'm on Locke's side to. I wish Jack would listen to Locke's story," Kate said sadly. She might have to fight Jack, even watch him die. It was a hard choice. 

Claire noticed the look of love and longing in Kate's eyes when she said his name. "Um, Kate, you're not IN LOVE with Jack!"

Kate's cheeks turned red and she looked away. "Maybe I am." Claire patted Kate's shoulder. "So I guess you're not to happy that the right side to be on is Locke's."

She sighed. "Yeah, you got that right."

"It will turn out okay. You and Jack can marry and have kids and live a WONDERFUL life!" Claire kept on talking and talking about their wedding, their gorgeous kids, their happy life.

"Claire. Claire, honey, you're going in a bit over the top. So I have a little crush on him, so what?" Kate said. She could tell that Claire didn't believe Kate only had "a little crush".

"You're secrets safe with me!" Claire smiled. Just then, Charlie came down a couple trees to the right of Kate's.

"Um, if you're gonna keep on talking about secrets, you might not want me to be hearing this," he chuckled.

"Charlie! You were listening?" Kate stuttered.

"Yeah, I was listening!"

"Uh, well I was just leaving. Have a great chat!" Claire smiled and walked away, carrying the baby that had been in her arms.

"Sorry, Kate. Couldn't help myself. But your secrets safe with me too," Charlie assured her.

"Thanks. But if you DON'T keep your promise..." Kate gave him a frown.

"I'll keep my promise, don't worry."

"You better," Kate mumbled.

Chapter 6: Choosing the Sides

Sayid set up a little stage out of a peice of the airplane.

Everyone assembled below the stage and waited for Locke to speak.

"It seems that you think that I killed Boone," Locke started. "I can promise you I didn't. I was begging Boone to get out. Really."

"Out of what?" a survivor asked.

"Well, it's a long story. To make it short, I'll briefly tell you. I had this vision, and an airplane zoomed overhead, and when I awoke, Boone and I followed it. We found the airplane and because my leg wasn't working properly, I'll tell you that later, I asked Boone to go up there. Then the airplane started to creak a bit and I asked him to get out. It started to tip even more and I begged him to get out, and it fell a bit later, and yeah." Locke was nervous wondering if they would believe him. He was thankful that they had forgotten about his leg(which was for some reason working properly now)so he didn't have to explain about his leg.

"So now it's time to choose sides. If you actually believe Locke, your leader is Locke. If you have a brain and don't believe Locke, your leader is me. We have to know who we can trust and who we can't," Jack said. "I will read out the names of the survivors. Ones who don't have opinions will even out the sides."

"First on the list...Sayid?" Sayid walked into Jack's group. He smiled.

"Claire?" She walked into Locke's group. Jack frowned.

And so it went like that. More people walked into Locke's group than to Jack's, but he knew that the people that didn't have opinions would level it out. And he would have Kate-he was sure of it.

"Kate?" Jack already knew that she would walk into his. But when she turned in the other direction, his eyes widened.

"Which side are you on?" Jack asked, which made him look like a dork because Kate was clearly standing on Locke's side.

"Locke's side!" Kate replied strongly. She immediately regretted saying it so strongly when she saw Jack's eyes. She could see the hurt and pain in his eyes. Kate looked away from him.

The rest didn't care what sides they were on. Jack knew that the sides were even now, but Jack still felt like half his side wasn't there when he saw Kate standing on Locke's side. He gritted his teeth.

"Jack, don't you think tomorrow we should be at peace? So friends split on different sides can talk for another day?" Locke asked him.

"I guess. Yeah, that's a good idea." He went back to thinking of Kate. Was it because Claire, her best friend was on that side? Was it because Sawyer was on that side? Or was it because (Jack gulped) Kate hated Jack? He shook his head, walked into his tent, and slept.

Chapter 7: Goodbye, Kate

All of the survivors reunited with their friends on the other side the next day. Jack searched the group for Kate. He found her and Sayid talking. Jack walked closer to hear what they were talking about.

"Would they let us get together every week?" Kate asked skeptically.

"They should. These transmissions and radio tests might get us off this island instead of standing here, fighting the Boone War." Kate laughed ever time she heard "The Boone War." It just sounded so weird.

"Yeah, I guess your right," Kate said.

Jack walked away. Radio stuff, how boring, he thought.  
---  
It was evening and the sunset was beautiful. Jack stared out across the ocean.

"Hey," Kate said softly and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," Jack replied. They stood for a moment, neither speaking.

"I...I just wanted to say good-bye," Kate searched for the right words. "Because next time we see each other, we might be fighting. Violently. With guns and knives."

Jack and Kate looked into each others eyes. They just stood like that for a long time until Jack looked away.

"It's, um...it's getting late. I should be getting back to sleep," Jack stuttered. Kate nodded and Jack turned towards the tent.

"Wait-Jack?" Jack stopped. Kate ran up to him and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Goodbye, Jack."

Jack stroked her hair and bent down to kiss her. It was a quick, gentle kiss, but in that kiss Jack told Kate more than he ever could with a million words.

"Goodbye, Kate."

Chapter 8: That Guilty Feeling

"Why should WE risk our lives for YOUR silly fight? It's between you a Locke, not us!" Jason, a fellow castaway, exclaimed. Jack had called a meeting to form an attack plan a few minutes ago. They would've already started if Jason hadn't kept on interrupting.

"Yeah. Why are we having this "war" as people call it? How come you can't just ban him from the beach because you're the leader?" Matt asked.

"Locke wouldn't listen to me-"

"Then fight him!"

"To the death!" Jason added. Jack sighed. Jason and Matt were always talking. The most annoying thing was, they made sense.

"Jack. Jack!" Sayid said, snapping him back to reality. "You weren't paying attention to my plan!"

"Oh, sorry Sayid. I was thinking."

"Anyway, we can take Claire and Kate hostage-Charlie will give anything up for Claire and the baby, and Kate to reduce the number of good fighters on Locke's side."

Jack froze. Did Sayid just suggest kidnapping KATE! I could never do that! Jack thought frantically. But I can't tell my group that!

"Jack? You're turning pale. You've been very stressed out lately. Take a rest," Michael told him.

"And I'll finish the plans for you!" Sayid said.

"Um...thanks..." Jack said. He didn't want Sayid to continue planning this kidnapping!   
---  
It was the day of their sneak attack. Jack's people were all armed with knives, sharp sticks, sharp rocks-anything they could find.

"You go ahead, I'll catch up," Jack told them. He fingered the key around his neck and hurried to the spot he hid the metal case. He twirled the key in the lock and got a gun out.

He went back to the fight. He searched for Kate, but felt a light body pounce on him. Jack fell to the ground and hit the body repeatedly on the ground. The grasp loosened. He turned around and saw that it was Sun.

"I'm sorry, Sun. This is what I have to do." He pulled out his gun, but not before Jin pummeled him over. Michael pulled Jin off. Sun kicked Jack in the face and made his lip and nose bleed. He grapped her ankles, swung her to the ground and got out his gun again. She helped you save Boone. This is what this battle is about. Sun has helped you whenever she could. Sun helped you. All of these thoughts flashed through Jack's head as he pulled the trigger. Bang. Blood. A cry of pain. Jin's gasp. His own heart beat like crazy. Jack slowly placed his gun back. Did I really do that? he asked himself over and over again. And everytime he asked himself that he looked at Sun's lifeless body and knew.

"Jack! Jack, kill Claire!" Sayid screamed, raking at Charlie. "Quick!"

Jack flipped around and pulled out his gun. Why was he killing another woman? This time a weaponless woman?

"Jack! NOW!" Sayid shouted again. It's just one woman. Just one woman. Just one woman.

Reluctantly, he pulled out his gun and got it ready.

"Claire! Claire watch OUT!" a female voice screamed. As Jack was about to shoot, Kate pushed Claire out of the way. Jack's eyes popped out of their sockets. He tried to stop his finger from pulling the trigger, but he couldn't. The bullet whizzed out, but instead of hitting Claire's heart, it made it's mark in Kate's arm.

Kate gasped in pain. She dropped to the ground. Claire stared in shock at Jack. Kate tore off a strip of her shirt and tied it around her arm, trying to stop her blood from spilling out. She shakily got up and moved off to the side with Claire.

"When do you think we should leave?" Sayid asked.

Jack paused for a moment. "Now," he replied. He called a retreat and they headed back to their boundary.

All through the afternoon, he stood watching the waves crash against the sand. I shot Kate. I shot Kate, Jack kept thinking. No, she got in the way! It's not my fault! Jack tried to convince himself, but he couldn't. He would always feel that guilty feeling, knowing that he shot Kate.

Chapter 9: Secret Meetings

Kate followed Claire to the waterfall.

"You need to wash this off," Claire said, trying to substitute as a doctor. She reached for a random shirt, dipped it in water, and handed it to Kate.

"Thanks," Kate said, taking the shirt and holding it to her bleeding arm.

"It should be me who thanks you," Claire replied. "You saved my life." Suddenly, Locke came to the waterfall.

"Charlie told me about your arm!" Locke said. "You okay?"

"Do you think she's okay?" Claire asked. "She just got shot in the arm."

"Yeah, I'm okay. Hurts like hell, but I can manage," Kate replied. Locke tied a cloth around her arm to stop the bleeding.

"You just rest," Locke said. "And tomorrow we're having a funeral for Sun." He looked over at Jin, who was still trying to get Sun to breathe.

"I gotta go," Claire said. She waved good-bye and left.

-----

It was night and Kate came to the waterfall to wash her arm again. The waterfall was the boundary between Locke's and Jack's side. For 1/2 a mile around the waterfall, it was a safe zone. No one could hurt each other there.

"Dammit!" Kate swore. She couldn't tie the cloth around her arm neatly with one hand.  
She froze as a hand touched her shoulder.

"Here, let me help you," Jack said, wondering if Kate would let him help her. He was, after all, the one who shot her in the first place.

Kate didn't say anything. Jack bit his lip, wondering if she hated him for shooting her. There was nothing I could do to stop the bullet! Jack thought.

Jack pulled out some proper cloth and was half-surprised when Kate let him. He fixed her arm in silence.

"Thanks," Kate said softly. Jack took a deep breath and decided to speak.

"Kate, I-I'm sorry for shooting you. I m-mean, I didn't want to shoot Claire, and much less you, but-" Jack's mouth was covered with Kate's.

"Sh. I know you had to," Kate whispered, and rapped her arms around him. Jack stroked her hair and kissed her head.

The kiss deepened as Jack held her tighter and tighter in his arms. Kate groaned softly as Jack lightly bit her neck. Kate placed her hand on a certain spot on his neck, which always made Jack shiver with delight. He slid his hands under her shirt and up and down her back.

"Jack, I love you," Kate moaned.

"I love you to-" Jack stopped. Footsteps came closer and Kate dashed into the bushes just as Sayid came into the clearing.

"Ah, here you are, my friend. We were looking for you," Sayid said.

"I'm here, just wanted to rest."

"We made a new plan. We all want to show it to you. Can you come see it?" Sayid asked.

"Yeah, sure, in a second. I just want to rest for a few more minutes."

"Take your time," Sayid told him, and left.

"He's gone now," Jack whispered. Kate came out. "I need to go," Jack said.

"Okay," Kate said. "And Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Sometime could we schedule a meeting or something? I...I can't stand not seeing you," Kate admitted.

"Sure. How about...every Saturday?" Jack suggested.

"Okay! Thanks Jack."

"Good night, Kate. I love you." Jack kissed her one more time and walked off after Sayid.

Chapter 10: All Great Warriors Fall

Jack couldn't handle it any longer. He could not manage to kill anymore.

"STOP!" he shouted. All of his people stared at him. Jack rarely shouted.

"I don't want to make these plans! We used to be best friends with the people on Locke's side! I want this war to be over!" Jack glanced at Jason and Matt. "Jason and Matt are right-no one else should die except for either Locke or me."

"So you're gonna fight Locke to the death!" Jason and Matt said in unison. They looked excited.

"Yes, I am," Jack said with more confidence than he felt. "I can't bear to kill all of my friends." He scribbled a message on a slip of paper and gave it to Sayid.

"Should I take this to him?" Sayid asked. Jack nodded. He watched his friend scamper off into the forest and sighed. But what if he didn't win this fight?

Flashback  
----------  
Jack dropped his hand into his hands. A nurse came to him.

"Dr. Shephard, don't feel bad," she said comfortingly.

"Klara, I should have been able to save him."

"You are only human. Besides, all great warriors fall sometimes," she told him.  
----------  
All great warriors fall, Jack repeated in his head. All great warriors fall. All great warriors fall.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "I gave him the message. He says maybe in two days the fight can take place on the beach?"

"Yeah, okay," he said with a sigh. 

"Okay. I'll get your weapons. Soon, I'll be able to work on the transmission with Kate again. Maybe we can finally get one step closer to getting off this island." Sayid stood up and left.  
----------  
It was the day of the fight. Jack and Locke were eached armed with two knives each.

"Ready to fight?" Locke asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Jack told him. 

They stood there for a minute, then Locke lunged at Jack. Jack slid to the right so Locke went past him. Locke struck out at Jack, but every time Jack blocked his blows. With his unoccupied hand, he thrust his knife in the direction of Locke's heart. Jack was expecting that, kneeled down, and grabbed his ankles. Jack saw that Locke's knives were at his sides and reached for them, but Locke knocked him over and held him down with his knee. Jack struggled to get up but couldn't he was firmly locked under Locke's knee.

"I didn't think killing you would be this easy," Locke smiled. He reached for his knife and brought it to Jack's neck, but Jack kicked his butt with his heel.

"And you think a little butt kicking will get me off?" Locke asked him. For the few seconds that Locke was distracted, Jack had grabbed one of his knives and waved it at him. Locke twirled around but wasn't ready in time. Jack threw his knife with deadly aim and it planted itself squarely between Locke's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Locke," Jack whispered, tears forming in his eyes. "You were always there for me." He turned and slowly went back to the waterfall he always stayed at.

"Good job, Jack! I am quite glad that this war is over!" Sayid congratulated him. But Jack just silently walked off.

Chapter 11: Why Am I Leader?  
-  
Kate let her breath out, relieved that Jack won the fight. She glanced around and saw him run into the forest. After a few moments, Kate ran after him.

Jack ran to his favorite clearing, and sat down, tears forming in his sexy eyes. He heard footsteps and knew it was Kate, but didn't around.

"Hey," Kate said, placing her hand on his shoulder. Jack was still silent. 

"Good job! Locke should know that he can't beat you that easily!" Kate said cheerfully, trying to make a smile appear on his lips. She became uncomfortable and wished he would say something. "Aren't you happy?"

"No, I'm not happy!" Jack forced out, hoping that his voice wouldn't crack in front of Kate. It did. "Why should I be happy? I've killed Sun, the one who has always helped me with any injuries I can't fix alone, I've shot you-don't lie to me, you WERE in pain-Claire will never trust me ever again, I mean, I was trying to shoot her, and I've killed Locke, my friend!"

Kate didn't know what to say. It was almost all true. "Claire still trusts you. She told me," Kate said quietly.

"Then Claire must have been drunk when she told you. No one trusts someone who tried to kill them."

"Claire was fine when we were discussing it. She knows you had to, Jack!" 

Jack sighed. "Kate, why am I leader? It's such a stressful position."

"You're leader because you're the only person with medical skills, the only person thinking straight when the plane crashed, and a person who can go to for comfort and protection." Kate looked into his eyes. "We need you as our leader, Jack."

Jack sighed. "It's just so hard!"

Kate thought for a moment. "Maybe you'd better take a break. Spend sometime on another part of the island for a week until you feel ready again."

Jack's eyes lit up. "Yeah, Kate, yeah! That's what I'll do!" Jack exclaimed. "But only if you'll come with me." Kate smiled and nodded. Leaning forward, Jack kissed her cheek softly. "I better tell the others where we're going." Jack got up (which Kate was unhappy about) and walked away towards the beach.

Chapter 12: My Brother, Ethan, is Dead  
-  
"Wanna stop here?" Jack asked. They had been walking for two hours and it was getting dark.

"Sure." Kate slipped off her backpack. "Nice view." Jack looked at the colorful sunset before them and nodded.

"There is only one thing prettier than that sunset," Jack said.

"What?" Kate asked.

"Your eyes."

Kate gave him a look. "That's really cheesy, Jack." He shrugged.

"Should we eat now?" Kate asked.

"Yeah." Jack took some boar meat, fruit, and fish out of his backpack. He tossed her some.

They finished eating and watched the waves crash against the sand and the sun go down.

"Can life get any better?" Kate asked. "I'm sitting next to the greatest guy ever, on the beach, watching a beautiful sunset."

"You can be kissing me."

"I never knew you could be so cheesy!" Kate said, laughing. "But if you're suggesting something..." Kate smiled.

"Yeah, I'm suggesting something," Jack told her. Kate smiled and let her lips touch his. They broke apart as a polar bear sprinted full speed past them.

"I thought the polar bears stayed in the forest!" Kate exclaimed.

"Well, I guess not. I wonder what it was doing here." Jack yawned. "Well, I'm going to get to bed. We can finish our...romantic stuff later."

"Okay." They lay down and fell asleep, dreaming of each other.

The polar bear watched them fall asleep and ran off quietly...  
----------  
The polar bear tore through the forest faster than a cheetah. He approached a man. A man that looked strangely like Ethan...

The bear made some weird sounds which the man understood.

"Ah, they are asleep? Good work, Killer!" The man patted his head, cut off an arm from a dead body and gave it to Killer.

The man gathered his weapons and a needle. He walked in the direction of where Jack and Kate were.  
----------  
The man got his needle ready and put two knives by his sides just incase Jack woke up. Creeping foreward, he grabbed Kate! Before she could scream, the man had stuck the needle into a certain spot on her neck. Kate fainted.

"Work done," he whispered to Killer as she dragged Kate by.  
----------  
Jack woke up. "Now for that romantic business we didn't finish," Jack whispered. He opened his eyes and found that Kate was not there! Footprints that were too big for Kate's were scattered there.

"No...no..." Jack whispered. "She couldn't have been...kidnapped..." Jack ran off into the forest when Killer knocked him out.  
----------  
"Why...why am I here?" Kate said, trying to make her voice stay level.

"You know why," the man said.

"No, actually, I don't. Where's Jack?"

"Hm...probably laying on the ground at the moment. Killer was supposed to knock him out."

"Killer?" Kate asked.

"My polar bear," the man answered.

"Now will you answer who you are? Why I'm here?" The man was in the shadows, so Kate couldn't see how closely he resembled Ethan.

"I am Mark," he said, stepping out of the shadows. "And my brother, Ethan, is dead!" Mark sprang foreword and punched her in the stomach with all his power.

"And I want revenge," Mark said, punching her again. "I want revenge on the group that killed my brother!"

Chapter 13: Slaves For Life  
-  
Jack hit the ground with a big thud. Killer beat him with his paws.

"What! GET OFF OF ME!" Jack yelled. He took the knife out of his belt and hit Killer with it, but not before the raging polar bear sunk his canine tooth into Jack's neck...

Killer scrambled off with Jack, badly hurt with the knife wound.  
----------  
"What are the friggin' numbers, bastard!" Mark screamed and slapped Kate. She blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes. She had to show Mark she was strong.

"I-" Another slap. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Just then, Killer dragged in Jack.

"Ah, what we've been waiting for!" Mark said with an evil grin(ya know, the kind all evil guys have in movies) and showed Jack's body to Kate.

"Jack!" Kate screamed. She could no longer hold back her tears. "What did you do to him, bitch!"

"Aw, shut yer mouth. He's not dead, just passed out like I did to you!" Then he turned to Killer. "Looks like you're injured. If you're not of use, I don't want you." With that, Mark kicked him out of the clearing.

Kate cringed. Even though she knew how bad Killer was, she didn't like seeing an animal being treated like that. Then, her thoughts turned back to Jack.

"Tell me the numbers NOW," he said, "or your little lover will die!"

"I don't know the numbers!" Kate screamed again.

"Oh, too bad. Looks like Jacky is just gonna have to die then," Mark pressed the knife against Jack's neck.

"Wait!" Kate yelled. Mark turned around. "If I become your slave for life, will you keep him alive?"

"Yeah, guess I need a slave. Okay," Mark said. "Heck, I'm feeling freakishly nice. Bad thing actually. Jack can also be my slave!" Throwing open a metal dungeon door(I know this is cheesy, how could he build this dungeon?) he threw Jack and Kate inside.  
----------  
"Jack! Jack please wake up!" Kate begged, willing Jack to rise out of this trance.

"Kaaaaaate," Jack mumbled.

"Jack! You're alive! You're alive!" Kate hugged Jack around the neck tightly and started sobbing.

"Woah, you're gonna kill be if you hug me this tightly!" Jack stroked Kate's hair softly.

"I love you Jack! But we have to be slaves for life and-" Jack put a finger to Kate's lips.

"Tell me later. I still have to finish that romantic business with you don't I?" Jack said. Kate smiled. Jack kissed her softly. His arms explored Kate's back.

"I love you Kate," Jack said and lightly bit her ear. Her hands grasped his shirt and pulled it off slowly.

"Are you suggesting something this time?" Jack asked innocently.

"Yeah, I am!" Kate said. Jack took off Kate's shirt and forced her to the ground. Flipping around, Kate went on top of Jack and straddled him. Jack's fingers had an urge to unclasp her bra strap, but she knew thats what she wanted him to do. Let's start it slow, keeping her begging.

Kate unzipped Jack's jeans and her own. She kicked hers off. Jack couldn't resist the urge. Quickly, Jack's fingers flew up to her bra strap and unclipped them. He slid his tongue down her body to between her perfect breasts. Kate gasped as Jack went in and out of her. He held her hips down and licked between her breasts.

"Jack!" she gasped and grabbed his penis. Her arms then slid up his muscular back and through his hair.

"Kate," Jack whispered. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

Chapter 14: The Numbers

Jack woke up to find Kate, back in her clothes, sitting against the wall.

"Hey," Jack said with a smile.

"Hey," she replied. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well," he replied, putting his clothes back on. "You?"

"Fine," Kate said.

Just then, Mark opened the door. "Ah, you're already awake. After I eat, I expect you to be ready." Mark shut the dungeon door again.

"Who...who is he?" Jack asked frantically. "He looks...almost like Ethan..."

"I was starting to tell you about all this last night. That's Mark, Ethan's brother. He kidnapped me while we were sleeping on the beach," Kate explained.

"I noticed you missing and was going out to search for you but..." Jack rubbed his head, trying to remember. "That polar bear thing pounced on me. I blacked out...and then I woke up with you." Jack looked around and noticed for the first time that they were in a dungeon.

So Kate explained all that happened when Killer dragged him in, how Mark had kicked Killer out, about some strange set of numbers he wanted, about how they were slaves for life.

Mark opened the door again. "Okay, out!" As he moved aside to let them through, Jack and Kate made a run for it. Two sets of dark, strong hands grabbed them.

"I knew you two would try that! Well, lucky for my bodyguards, you won't escape!" Mark tried to do an evil laugh, which didn't really work..

Mark held a knife to Jack's throat. "Maybe you know about the numbers, my dear friend," Mark hissed.

"What numbers!" Jack asked him. He knew that these were the numbers Mark had questioned Kate about.

"You know what numbers!" Mark hissed again. "The numbers to that!" He pointed to a hatch in the ground.

Jack's flashback  
"She's saying something..." a nurse said, putting her ear to the dying woman. "4...8...15...16...23...42..." The woman kept repeating those numbers. She wrote it on her arm to remember the numbers. (The numbers didn't wash off. Unfortunately, the nurse died the next day.)

The woman stopped breathing.

"Come on! Come on, you can live!" Jack cried, pounding on her chest. "Come on."

"You remember the numbers?" Mark questioned and pressed the knife harder against his skin. Jack recalled the face. Sort of like Ethan...Ethan's sister!

"Why do you want to know?" Jack questioned.

"Because I want to open that damn hatch, duh," Mark told him.

"Did anyone know the numbers?"

Mark snorted. "Yeah, my stupid sister did."

Jack stayed silent.

"Okay, well if I kill you, and you know the numbers, one less person to ask. You obviously have an idea of what the numbers are, so I'll try a different tactic." Mark swung his arm from Jack to Kate. "Tell me or say good-bye to your little lover here!"

"4 8 15 16 23 42!" Jack yelled. Everyone was silent.

"Ah. Let me try that," Mark said, walking over to the hatch in the ground. Sure enough, the hatch opened. The bodyguards left to go see. Immediately, Jack and Kate ran.

"Stupid! They're escaping!" Mark shouted. Suddenly, Sawyer, Sayid, and Charlie jumped out.

Everything was in a blur. Jack ran. Kate's footsteps stopped and she screamed. He turned around and saw Mark standing over her, with a gun ready. Jack was about to go back, but Sayid dragged him with him. He couldn't escape from Sayid's grip. 

"Kate!" he shouted.

"She'll be okay," Sayid told him. How could anyone think Kate would be okay? he asked himself. They stopped when they reached the caves. He was panting.

"Here," Sayid gave him a cup of water. Jack accepted it and drank.

Jack just sat there, wondering what to ask first.  
-  
Kate was sitting on a rock when Jack came up.

"Kate! You're alive!" Jack breathed out.

"Jack!" Kate threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Jack whispered. "How did you get back?"

"I didn't get back on my own," she told him.

"Then who saved you?" Jack asked.

"Sawyer." The name rang in Jack's ears.

Chapter 15: Saved  
-  
"Sawyer saved you?" Jack asked unhappily.

"Yup I did," Sawyer said, stepping into view. "Looks like Saint Jack just didn't quite get there in time." Sawyer grinned at Jack.

"Oh, shut up, Sawyer." Kate rolled her eyes. Jack felt a little better.  
----------  
"I'm going out to pick some fruit. Wanna come?" Jack asked Kate. It had benn 3 days since they came bak.

"Sure,but can we stop by the metal case? Just in case we see Mark again?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, good idea." Jack took the silver key from his neck, unlocked the case, and gave them each a gun.

They walked until they saw a tree. "That's a good one!" Kate said and tackled the tree.

"I'll catch." Kate dropped the fruit and Jack caught them in his leather bag.

Just then, a boar scuttled by and accidentally knocked Jack into the ravine.

"Jack!" Kate yelled and slid down to him. Jack hit his head and was now groaning.

"Jack, Jack are you okay-"

"An airplane!" Jack suddenly shouted, pointing to the blue sky.

"You hit your head, you must be hallucinating. It's not the first time-"

"Just look, Kate!" Reluctantly, she turned around. A blue and white jet was soaring through the air!

"Oh my God!" Kate shouted. "I know!" She pulled a mirror out of her bag and flashed it towards the airplane. The pilot saw and circled down.

Slowly, the pilot got out.

"Are you the survivors of flight 815?" Mr. Johnson, the pilot, asked authoratively.

"Yes!" Kate told him excitedly.

"Survvors of Oceanic 815 found. I repeat, survivors of Oceanic 815 found!" he said into his radio. Then turning to Jack, he asked, "Are there more of you, sir?"

"Yeah. Kate, run ahead and tell them. We'll be right behind you."

Kate ran as fast as she could. There were most of the survivors huddled around Hurley.

"Okay, next contestants up!" Hurley was saying.

"Everyone!" Kate shouted. The survivors all turned around. "There is a PILOT with an AIRPLANE here to SAVE US!"

Everyone was silent. "Uh, Kate, are you feeling all right?" Claire asked skeptically.

"Yes! It's true!" Just then, Jack and the pilot appeared in sight.

"Bloody great!" Charlie exclaimed.

"The pilot was just coming back from searching for us," Jack told Kate.

They all gave their names and boarded.

"Kate Ryan?" a crew member asked Kate.

"Yes?" she squeaked.

"You were proved innocent. Because you currently don't have a home, and now that you don't live in jail, we think it's right that we give you an apartment." The man handed her a ton of paperwork.

"Wha-oh-really-how-uh-thanks." Kate didn't know what to say. Jack and everyone else heard. The first hour of the flight she was loaded with questions.  
---------  
Kate was going to live in the apartment where Jack lived. Little did she know what he was hiding...

"This is great, Jack! Really great!" Kate exclaimed, snuggling against Jack.

"Yeah, great!" Jack gulped. Claire came over and started talking to Kate.

Just then, a blond woman approached them.

"Ah, Jack! I thought my hubby was gone!" she said, kissing Jack.

"Uh, good to see you, Sarah. I missed you," Jack said weakly, turning pale.

"Are these friends you made on the island?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, um...Sarah, this is Kate, this is Claire...This is my wife, Sarah." Jack tried to keep his voice level. He glanced at Kate, who was staring at Sarah.

"Did you know he was married?" Claire whispered.

"No! No...he never- he never told me!" Kate whispered back. "I wanna get out of here."

"Oh yeah, Kate, Charlie wanted to show you something," Claire said loudly, and then left. And Jack knew why.

Chapter 16: You Hurt Me Badly  
-  
Jack and Sarah drove to their apartment later. "I'm so glad you're safe, Jack! I really missed you, honey."

"Missed-you-too," Jack forced out.

"I need to stop by the grocery store, okay? You just rest," Sarah said, kissing Jack's cheek. Jack just nodded and climbed the stairs of the apartment building.

Jack took Kate's number out of his pocket and dashed to the phone. Carefully, his fingers dialed her number...  
-  
There were no flights to Australia from Los Angeles for about a week, so Claire decided that she would stay with Kate.

"Why did he lie to me? I mean, why would Jack-" Kate was pacing back and forth when the phone rang.

"Want me to get it?" Claire asked.

"Nah, I got it," Kate said and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Kate paused for a moment. "Jack." Kate and Claire exchanged a look.

"Um, Kate...well, I kinda wanna talk to you." Jack mentally kicked himself for not planning out what he was going to say before.

"Wouldn't you rather talk to your wife?" Kate spat.

"No...no, I don't," Jack said carefully. "Kate, I'm sorry. I really am." There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Jack, why didn't you tell me you were married?" Kate asked softly.

"Because I knew that you wouldn't have fallen for me if you knew."

"Yeah, well, you aren't exactly supposed to play with married men."

"Kate, I always thought that Sarah was everything. Before I saw you! I love you more, Kate, I love you more!" Jack choked out.

"Do you think I'd want a guy who changes his mind that easily over girls? How will I know you won't leave me? Does Sarah know about our relationship?"

"No, Sarah doesn't. But Kate you ARE everything!" Jack's voice was becoming more and more uneven.

"Didn't you think SARAH was everything?" Kate asked calmly. She wasn't feeling as calm as she sounded.

Jack was speechless. "Well...yeah, but..." Then taking a grip of himself, he said, "Kate, I want you more! I want to divorce her now!"

"Jack, I don't want to break up your relationship!" Kate said, anger in her voice.

"I don't want to be married to Sarah! I don't! Not since I met you! Please Kate," Jack said. Then in a quieter voice, "I need you. Please."

Kate sighed. Should she actually give in to him? After what he didn't tell her?

"Jack, I love you. And I need you too. But..." Kate's voice trailed off.

"Please."

Kate knew that Jack was making that pleading face that she found so sexy.

"Whether you take me back or not, I'm divorcing her."

"Jack, this isn't what is supposed to happen!" Jack said, tears in her eyes. "This isn't supposed to happen!"

"Kate-"

"You hurt me badly. But I don't want to know that I've broken you're relationship, that I've hurt you in that way."

"You haven't hurt me. You've fixed me," Jack whispered. There was an odd silence for a long time.

"Is there anyway to make you take me back?" Jack asked.

"If...if you never hurt me like you did. Never." Kate didn't know why she was giving in. She never gave in.

"I won't Kate. I won't. I'll talk about divorcing her with Sarah as soon as possible!" Jack said, trying to hide the happiness in his voice.

Kate nodded, and then remembering that Jack couldn't see her, said "Okay".

Jack said bye and hung up right as Sarah was opening the door.

"Sarah..." Jack started.

Chapter 17: You're Such An Asshole  
-  
After dinner, Sarah and Jack sat on the couch.

"Sarah, I need to tell you something," Jack said, sweating. He took a deep breath and continued. "On the island, I became friends with Kate."

"So? I hope you made a friend on the island!" Sarah said, not at all concerned.

"Well, as time went on, erm...I kinda fell in love."

Sarah's mouth dropped open. Her cheeks turned a bright red and she clenched her teeth.

Jack went faster now. "And I want a divorce. I still love you, but she captured my heart. If anything happens to you, I'll come and save you, but-"

"JACK SHEPARD!" Sarah shouted, tears in her eyes. "You-"

"We can still be friends! I'll still love you and protect you! Just I don't feel right, being married and loving another woman a little bit more-"

"Well, you wouldn't have had this problem if you thought of your WIFE when you fell in love with her!" Sarah fumed.

"I couldn't help it-" Jack explained.

"Too bad! You are such a bastard, Shepard!" Sarah yelled. "I just can't STAND you! I'm gonna be outta here within a week." Sarah flew out of the apartment.

Jack sighed. "Well, at least I have that over with," he said aloud, and turned on the TV.  
-  
"-so order your cruise tickets online now at 1-800-CRUISE!" the TV blared. Yeah, that would be a perfect vacation to take Kate on! Jack thought. He picked up the phone and ordered the tickets. They came in 4 days.

"Cruise tickets?" Sarah asked. She knew what this meant.

"Yeah, I'm taking Kate," Jack mumbled, engrossed in his paperwork.

"Well, I'm going past Kate's apartment. Want me to give the ticket to her? I'll tell her that you'll call her tonight at 7:00pm so you can explain what it's for," Sarah offered way too nicely.

"Yeah, sure," Jack mumbled. Sarah swooped up the ticket and hurried to Kate's place.  
-  
Kate was just walking out of the door when Sarah passed by.

"Oh, hello, Kate!" Sarah said happily.

"Hi, Sarah," Kate said slowly. Why would she be nice to me? Kate asked herself.

"Oh, Jack is so great!" Sarah said romantically. "We just had GREAT SEX last night! He is such a wonderful hottie!"

Kate's mouth dropped open as she stared at Sarah.

"And look where he's taking me!" Sarah continued, swinging the ticket across Kate's face. "On a cruise! He's so romantic!"

Sarah glanced at Kate's expression and knew she successfully got Kate mad at Jack. More than mad at Jack.

"What about the divorce?" Kate asked.

"What divorce? Well, gotta run!" Sarah said in a sing-song voice and dashed away.  
-  
That night, at 7:00pm, Jack called Kate.

"Hello?" Kate said.

"Hey, baby. It's me, Jack," he said. She didn't say anything. "Well...aren't you happy about the cruise?"

"HAPPY! You don't ask your wife about the divorce, have great sex with her, buy her CRUISE TICKETS, and you expect me to be HAPPY!"

"What?" Jack asked, confused. Immediately, Jack knew what Sarah had done.

"Why, Jack? You said you would never hurt me like this again! You promised me!" Kate said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I was going to take you!"

"Yeah right, Jack. I just ran into your wife a couple hours ago," Kate said.

"Wha? She's lying, Kate, she has to be lying!" Jack yelled. "How do you know Sarah's not lying!"

"How do I know YOU'RE not lying!"

"I'm...I'm not!" Jack stammered. "I'd never lie to you!"

"You lied to on the island! You said that you were single!"

"Kate...I know I lied then, but this is true!"

"You're an asshole!" Kate said, slamming down the phone.

Jack became weak. He sat down on the couch and cried like never before.

Chapter 18: So what If I am falling for Sawyer?  
-  
Every morning when Jack was still in bed, he rolled over and reached for Kate. But Kate wasn't there. She was never there.

Jack would occasionally call her. Kate wasn't mean, but she wasn't the fuzzy, warm girl that Jack loved. Their conversation was just a hi, how are you, wow the weather's nice, bye type of thing. Whenever Jack brought up their relationship, she would only push it away.  
-  
Kate still loved Jack. She didn't want to push him away, but she had to. She didn't want Jack to lie to her again. Kate did want to wrap her arms around him, for their lips to touch just one more time. But she knew she couldn't.

Kate worked at an archery range near her apartment. She taught people how to use a bow and arrow, how to stand, and things like that.

Everyone else already had an instructor, so she sat in the backroom, waiting for someone.

A few minutes later, the receptionist came in. "There's a man here. Do you want to take him?"

"Sure," Kate said and followed the receptionist. When she saw who the man was, she stopped dead in her tracks.

He was surprised, too. "Woah, Freckles, didn't know ya worked here."

"Oh, you know each other? That's nice!" the receptionist said. "Have a nice time!"

They just stood there. "Are ya gonna get me a bow and some arrows or what?"

"Um, yeah, sure, let's see what size you need," Kate said, shaking herself and getting into the instructor mode. They went to a wall with many sized and bows. They got the right weight arrows and went to an open column.

"Okay, um, this is how you position it," Kate said, reluctant to go near him. She reached around him and positioned his arms and feet.

Sawyer smiled with delight. He loved having her so close to him. He kept on messing up his position so Kate had to come close and touch him.

"I know you're doing this on purpose," Kate hissed.

"Well maybe I am," Sawyer replied with a grin. Suddenly, he set the bow and arrows on the ground, set one arm around Kate's waist, and pulled her close. He planted her lips on hers.

Doesn't Jack have bad luck. He had to decide to come to the ranch on the same day at just the wrong time. He came in in the middle of their kiss.

Kate didn't pull away to quickly. She wasn't sure if she wanted Sawyer, and she certainly didn't want to show that she liked it. Ah, an excuse! Kate thought.

"Stop!" she said and pulled a rule book out of her back pocket. She flipped to a page and showed it to him.

"No fooling around in the archery columns(like doing the chicken dance, making out, etc)" Sawyer read slowly. Kate was thankful that this was her friend's version. In this one, her friend made a bunch of edits like that one(the manager forgot to put a password on it on the computer that he was using).

Jack stopped when he saw them.

"You know you like it," Sawyer said.

"That's not the point," Kate muttered.

"Oh, so you admit you like me?"

"No!" Kate shouted. "Are you going?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sawyer said. "I already gave you my address, so just stop by if you feel like admitting it-"

"Shut up," Kate said through her teeth. She saw Jack looking at her-at them.  
-  
Jack decided to call Kate. For more than a hi, how are you doing, wow the weather's nice, bye type of thing.

"Hello?" Kate said.

"Hi, Kate," Jack said.

"Hi, Jack," Kate said, biting her lip.

"So, um..." Jack wasn't sure how to start the conversation and steer it to what he wanted to ask.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me?" Kate groaned.

"Are you falling for Sawyer?" he blurted out.

She knew this was coming. Kate thought that she wasn't, thought that even if she was, she would be able to lie about it, but it was Jack. Even though they didn't have a relationship anymore, she felt she couldn't lie to him.

"You are..." Jack whispered with anger when there was silence.

"So what if I am falling for Sawyer?" Kate muttered.

"Once our relationship doesn't work out, you just go on to the next man?" Jack yelled.

"You've always known that I've had a slight attraction to him," Kate yelled back.

"Yeah, well..well this looks like more than a slight attraction to me!"

"Oh come on, Jack, it's not going to turn into anything. I'll always love you more."

"How can you be sure? How can you be sure..."

There was a knock on Jack's door. "Ready?" Charlie called.

"Gotta go, Kate. I'm goin with Charlie somewhere. Bye." Jack hung up.

Kate started to wonder if she really was falling for Sawyer...

Chapter 19: I gotta be in hell  
-  
That night, Jack went to bed. Big mistake.

Jack found himself in a dark, damp pit. He felt around on the smooth, dirty ground. His hand bumped into something-it felt like a flashlight. Jack turned it on and shined it around him. The walls were bare except for pictures of Sawyer and Kate going up the wall.

The pictures were placed in a column and Jack was able to use it as a ladder. The frames weren't fastened that tightly onto the wall and several times, a picture would come off and fall down under Jack's weight.

Finally, he reached the top. The world around him was red. There were no trees and bushes, only weeds and small rocks. The sky turned a deeper red and it started to hail. He picked a peice of ice up and it was in the shape of an S. Then a K. All around him, there were peices of ice shaped into the letters of Sawyer and Kate's name.

He walked around a bit, shielding his neck from the hail. He came to a cliff and looked at the rushing river below. There were skates(haha) being rushed along. The river whispered, "Sawyer...Kate...Sawyer...Kate...". Jack followed the edge of the cliff.

Soon, he came to a creaking, old bridge. He was surprised to see that Sawyer was on the side of the other bridge, and Kate was in the middle!

"Kate!" he called. Kate's head whipped around and she glared at him.

"Come to me, Freckles, come to me!" Sawyer yelled, trying to Kate to come to him. Slowly, Kate took a step towards Sawyer.

"No! Kate! Come to me! Remember our wonderful relationship! That can return!" Jack pleaded. Kate started to take a step towards Jack, but Sawyer blurted out, "Jack lied to you!"

Kate's head slowly turned towards Jack and her eyes narrowed. "You can have a happier life with me!" Sawyer shouted.

Kate walked briskly towards Jack. His heart leapt but saw that Kate was still glaring at him.

"You hurt me once," Kate hissed and scratched his cheek with her long nails. "Then you said you never would again. And I believed you. But then you hurt me again. Badly. Sawyer has always told me the truth-"

"What? That's bullshit! He lied to you about the inhalers-"

Kate went on like she hadn't heard Jack. "Sawyer can make me happy. Sawyer is the man for me." She spun around and walked across the bridge towards Sawyer. Jack followed her across. When Kate got to Sawyer, Jack was halfway.

"We are right for each other," Kate yelled. "I love Sawyer!"

Just then, the old bridge broke. Jack yelled and reached the end of the bridge. He fell into the rushing river. A passing skate's toepick cut Jack's arm.

"I gotta be in hell," Jack whispered...

Chapter 20: Making up

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Jack's eyes popped open. He shot up into a sitting position and looked around wildly. No Kate. No Sawyer. No rushing river, no skates, not anything.

He turned to the beeping noise. His alarm clock. Jack fell back down and groaned. Why did I have to set my alarm clock for a Saturday, one of my days off? he asked himself. His alarm clock might have been a good thing, it woke him from that terrible dream.

He put on his pants and shirt lazily, shaved, brushed his teeth, and went out to eat.

At about 9:30am, the doorbell rang. Jack was thinking about his dream. 

Jack opened the door. He came to his senses and became tense when he saw who was standing right in front of him.

"Hi," Kate said with a weak slime. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark purple-ish demin jacket. Her hair was tied back in that messy, sexy way.

"Hi," Jack forced out.

"Can I come in for a sec? To talk?" Kate asked. Jack moved out of the way as his answer.

"Need anything to drink?" asked Jack.

"Nah, I'm fine."

Jack sat down on the other end of the couch and waited. "What did you want to talk about?"

Kate took a deep breath. "I've been...thinking. Jack, I can't stop thinking about you. I always feel guilty, and-"

"Don't be. You don't have any reason to believe me," Jack said slowly.

"No, Jack. Maybe you were telling the truth. You never lie like that." Kate took another deep breath. "Except when you lied to me about being single. But Jack, that's not what I came here for. I'm going to take you back, as long as you don't hurt me again like that. I know that's what I said before, but this time I mean it. I understand that Sarah might have had jealous feelings, and...um, yeah."

Jack was stunned. Kate was really going to take him back?

"So...yeah," Kate said again, wishing Jack would say something.

"Really?" Jack asked. Kate smiled and scooted closer.

"I love you, Jack," she whispered. "You are my world."

"I love you too, Kate," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist. Jack bent down and kissed her, slowly, gently. Kate slowly broke the kiss and set her head down on Jack's shoulder. "You promised me you'd try archery out sometime."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"I'm working this afternoon. Think you could spare the time?" Kate asked.

"Sure," Jack said and kissed her again. "What time do you start working?"

"Um...1:30, but I help organize in the backroom on Saturdays. In the beginning of the afternoon, at least. I actually get out at around 2:00."

"I'll come at 2:00, then, okay?" Jack said.

"Okay." Kate said and started to head out.

"Oh, and Kate?" Kate stopped and turned around.

Jack bit his lip and went on. "You said you were sorta..ya know, falling for Sawyer?"

"You know he always has attracted me a little bit. But Jack, what ever feeling I have for him aren't as strong as my feelings for you." Jack smiled and waved goodbye. He watched as those beautiful dark curls faded away down the hallway.

Chapter 21: Archery  
-  
Jack was nervous. He didn't know anything about archery-he had no interest in it at all. He was really just coming to see Kate.

"What does someone wear for archery?" Jack mumbled out loud. When he had stopped by the archery range to see Kate(well, to see her without Sawyer) people were just dressed in jeans or slacks.

He opened his closet and brought out a black shirt and a pair of jeans. He took a shower and put them on.

Finally, it was 1:50pm. He looked at himself one final time in the mirror to make sure he looked decent and went to the archery range.

When he got there, Kate was just coming out of the back room.

"Hey, Jack," Kate said with a smile. Jack smiled back at her.

He said he'd stay for an hour and payed the fee. Then, he joined Kate.

"So, where do we start?" Jack asked.

"We need to get you a bow and some arrows. She led him to the shelf with bows. Kate had him try pulling back the strings of the bows to see if they were right. When they found the right bow for Jack, they picked out some arrows.

"I got a private column for us," Kate said.

"Private column?"

"Yeah, there are a few ranges if the instructors want to be alone and practice," Kate told him.

"I'm...allowed to be in there?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," she said and motioned for him to follow her.

"You can choose the right size and most comfortable glove. This keeps your hands from bleeding from pulling back the string too much." Jack looked at the different gloves. 

Kate picked up her bow and arrow and practiced a bit. She didn't know that Jack was watching her.

She smoothly whipped the arrow out of the tube full of arrows and quickly fitted it. She pulled back and let go with power and gracefulness and the arrowtip planted itself firmly in the middle red circle.

"Wow," Jack remarked. Kate blushed and asked him if he had found the right gloves yet. He held up a pair of black gloves and got his bow and arrow.

"Put your feet like this," Kate said and showed him the foot position. Then, she showed him the arm positions, the back position, and just how much to pull the string back and what angle to position the bow. Kate had to re-adjust his positions several times. Finally, Jack got it and was able to hit the side of the target. His arrowtip got closer and closer to the middle red circle.

"This is hard!" Jack remarked. He wiped away a bead of sweat that was on his forehead.

Kate paused for a moment. "If you're too hot, you don't have to keep your shirt on," Kate said with hope.

"I'm not that hot," Jack chuckled and continued.

"You can take it off anyway."

"Nah, it's okay," Jack said. Kate came over, unbuttoned his shirt, and put it in a drawer.

"Doesn't that feel better?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, I guess it does," Jack said and kissed Kate. Her hands ran across his bare chest and up to his neck. "I love you, Kate."

"I love you, too," Kate said. Jack bit her neck lightly. Went up her shirt and behind her bra straps. He grasped her breasts and stroked them with his thumbs. She moaned and Jack pulled his hands away.

"It's 3:04," Jack said with a sigh. "I only paid enough for an hour."

"Hey, can you come over sometime?" Kate asked him.

"Yeah, not sure when, but fine."

"'Cause I have a math problem for you," Kate said with a grin.

"Calculator? Paper?" 

"Nah, I want you to solve it."

"I don't get what you're saying," Jack told her.

"You'll get it," Kate said and winked. She gave him his shirt and smiled.

Chapter 22: The Math Problem  
-  
Jack stopped by Kate's apartment the next evening to see what this "math problem" was.

"You need to go anywhere tonight?" Kate asked him.

"No..." he replied. They chatted for a bit. Finally, he couldn't hold his curiousity and asked what the math problem was.

Kate smiled. "What's you + me - clothes + bed + romance?" she asked.

"Oh, so you brought me over so you can have bed sex with me," Jack said, laughing.

"Yeah, actually," Kate said.

"And you expect to get me into a bed without clothes that easily?" Jack asked.

"Yeah."

"What makes you think I'm that easy?"

"Well...you didn't exactly fight for your shirt," Kate giggled.

"You'll have to bribe me."

"I'll strip too," Kate said, slowly smiling. Jack gave her a look. "What, you know you want it."

"Good enough offer," Jack said. He kissed her passionately and slowly, they made their way to the bed. Immediately, the shirts went flying through the air.

"Never knew you were so desperate for sex with me, Kate," Jack said. His hands went around her stomach a few times and made their way to her back. His hands slid up her back and Kate's spine tingled with delight.

He smoothly unclipped her bra strap and tossed it. Kate moaned and her fingers quickly unbuttoned Jack's jeans. She unzipped them and Jack kicked them off. Kate took off hers as well and tossed them next to Jack's.

Kate's hands slipped towards Jack's huge ELCB but every time she got close to it, Jack pushed her away.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, obviously annoyed.

"I want to keep you hungry. Really hungry," Jack said with his sexy smirk.

Kate's mouth lunged at Jack's lips and she kissed him fiercely. Jack kissed her back for a few moments and then pulled back.

"Guess you're hungry enough," Jack said. Kate waited eagerly as Jack pulled off his boxers. Her hands immediately flew to his ELCB and Jack fell back in happiness.

His hands cupped Kate's breasts and squeezed and rubbed them. Kate moaned as she arched her back and straddled him.

Jack rolled on top of her. His ELCB went in and out of her, for a shorter length each time. Kate held his lower back, keeping his ELCB in her. Jack and Kate gasped together, both enjoying this sensation greatly. Kate pressed her breasts against his chest. This position only lasted for a minute. Jack's tongue slid from Kate's lips to her breasts. His tongue circled her breasts, making a spiral around them. Finally, it made its way to the middle. He bit them slightly over and over again, every time Kate throwing her hips up.

Kate rolled around and placed her back on Jack's chest. She squeezed his ELCB with her legs. Jack's hands made their way around her and to her breasts. Jack started squeezing them to the beat that Kate was squeezing his ELCB. He licked her neck and their beat slowed down. Kate flopped off of Jack and lay down next to him. They were both tired and panting.

"Had a good time?" Jack whispered between pants.

"Yeah, you?" Kate asked, equally tired.

"Best sex I've ever had." Kate crawled on top of Jack, lay her head down on his chest, and went to sleep.

Chapter 23: Kate notices something...Strange...  
-  
Jack's eyes fluttered open and he looked around. His eyes centered on Kate and he stroked her hair.

A few minutes later, Kate woke up. She looked up and whispered a soft "Good morning".

"That was a hell of a math problem," he said with a laugh.

"Well, you came up with the right answer."

"Math was always my best subject." He kissed Kate on the forehead.  
-  
A month passed by and Kate felt happier than ever. She left behind those horrible memories and moved on.

Kate was making the bed when she started having some stomach pains. Even after a few days, they wouldn't go away. She went into the bathroom and lifted up her shirt to check it out.

She froze. Was her stomach...a little bit bigger?

Kate stood there. She shook her head to clear the thought away, but it wouldn't get out.

"Am I...Am I pregnant?" Kate whispered. Just then, she realized that someone was ringing the doorbell. She pulled her shirt down and rushed to the door.

"Oh, hi Jack," Kate said, not her usual self.

"Um, hi Kate," Jack said. "Wondering if you wanted to go down the archery range?"

"It's currently closed. It won't be open for another 3 weeks. Part of it is being rebuilt," Kate whipped out quickly.

Jack focused on Kate for a few seconds. "Kate, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Well...ah, nothing. You just seem out of it."

"I'm out of it? Do I seem out of it? I'm not out of it!" Kate blurted.

"Kate, is there something I'm missing?" Jack said slowly.

"No!" Kate said way to quickly.

"Well, wanna go shooting when it opens?"

"Sure! No problem! That would be great!" Jack gave Kate a strange look and left.

"Shoot, did I make it too obvious that I'm hiding something from him?" she asked herself aloud.  
-  
Claire had moved to L.A. and was living with Charlie. They lived 20 minutes away from Kate.

Kate dialed Claire's number.

"Hello?" Claire said.

"Claire? This is Kate. I gotta...erm...ask you something."

"Okay." There was silence.

"Can I come over or can you come here?" Kate asked nervously.

"It doesn't matter. Charlie's out getting a beer with Hurley. He's visiting from Sacramento. My neighbors have a baby, so John(the baby's name is John in this) is over at their house for the day. I'll come down."

"Okay, thanks. Bye."

Claire arrived 15 minutes later.

"Hi, Kate," Claire said.

"Hey, Claire!"

"You wanted to ask me something?" Claire asked as Kate and Claire moved towards the couch.

Kate bit her lip. "What does it feel like to be pregnant? How did you feel when you found out?"

"Um, I had some weird stomach pains around here-" she pointed to her chest "and my stomach was a little bigger and heavier. It felt weird.." Claire glanced at Kate strangely. Kate was turning a bit paler. "Why do you want to know, Kate?"

"I...I think...Claire, I think I'm pregnant!" Kate whispered.

Claire was shocked. Her open mouth turned into a smile. "Kate, that's great!"

Kate thought about it. Yeah, it is great, isn't it, Kate thought.

"Maybe- I'm not sure if I am," Kate said. Her smile got bigger and bigger. Jack and I are going to have a baby! Kate thought with delight. "Oh my God! This is great!"

"Of course it is! There's a hospital about 10 minutes from our house-want to drive down and make sure?" Claire asked excitedly.

"Sure!" Kate almost yelled.  
-  
It turned out that Kate was 1 month pregnant.

Jack was walking up the stairs the next day, coming back from the hospital. To get to Jack's apartment, you had to pass by Kate's.

Kate opened the door as Jack was walking by.

"Jack!" she yelled. Jack turned around and came in.

"Jack, guess what? Guess what?" Kate said with a huge grin.

"What?" Jack asked. Kate lifted up her shirt and pointed to her slightly swollen belly.

"Claire and I went down to the hospital by Claire's house and I'm pregnant!"

"Oh my...God, Kate, this is great!" Jack said, his mouth hanging open. He paused for a second and asked, "It's our baby, right?"

"Of course it is! What, do you think I've been secretly seeing Sawyer of somethin?" Kate asked with a laugh.

"God, this is gonna be great!"

"Yeah," Kate said and threw herself into Jack's arms.

Chapter 24: Return of Kate's Boyfriend  
-  
KATE'S MEMORY  
----------  
Kate's door flung open. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that it would come to this.

"Why! Why, Katie!" Ryan yelled. "What kind of girlfriend are you!"

"Ryan-" Kate started.

"WHAT KIND OF GIRLFRIEND WOULD CALL THE POLICE ON THEIR MAN!" Ryan screeched.

"Ryan, you were drunk! You were acting like a madman-"

Ryan hissed something that she couldn't understand. He slapped her hard across the cheek.

"You would have hurt somebody if I hadn't called the police!" Kate screamed at him.

Ryan stopped suddenly. Slowly, he turned his head towards Kate with an angry glint in his eyes. "You take orders from ME. I don't remember asking you to call the police."

"What the hell! I do not take orders from you!" Kate raged. Ryan slapped her again. He obviously wasn't satisfied with that and punched her.

"Ryan!" He leaped on Kate and tried to strangle her.

"Help!" Kate managed to scream. He choked her even more.

"Whatever you do to me, you WILL be caught. I overheard the police planning to follow you and trap you," Kate said after Ryan had had his fill of choking her.

"YOU BITCH!" Ryan yelled and slammed her into the kitchen cabinets. He took a gun out of his backpocket and shot at her. Kate rolled out of the way just in time. She bumped into the table, making an open bottle of ketchup come down on her.

Ryan only took a glance around and seeing that Kate was covered with "blood", started to run away.  
----------

(Between the asterisks happened right after the survivors were saved.)

Ryan escaped and successfully took a different identity. He was sprawled across his bed, watching the news.

The rescue of the survivors was on the news. Ryan's eyes flashed wider when he saw Kate.

"But...but I killed that bitch!" Ryan hissed. "Guess I'll kill her again." He stretched and whipped a gun out of the underwear drawer. "Long time since I've had some fun."

Kate and Jack decided to move into a proper house together. By the time they got settled, Kate was already 5 1/2 months pregnant.

"God, this is great," Jack whispered into Kate's hair.

"Yeah, it is," Kate whispered back. They stayed embraced in each other's arms for a few moments.

"I need to go buy that DVD player we were planning to get. I'll be back soon," Jack told Kate and left.

Ryan was feeling rather happy that he lived only 2 hours away from Los Angeles. He didn't have to travel too much to have some "fun."

He was walking down the hallway as Jack was coming out. He froze and only proceeded when he was sure Jack was gone.

Ryan grinned and barged open Kate's door. Kate's head snapped up. She was too stunned to speak.

"God, Kate...you're PREGNANT!" Ryan yelled. He then remembered why he had come here.

"Why are you here, Ryan?" Kate asked softly, her voice shaking.

"To kill you."

Chapter 25: Saved

Kate screwed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth, too scared to run away.

Ryan walked over to Kate and threw her from the couch to the ground. He circled around her with his gun pointed at her. Ryan thought for a moment and put it away.

"I'll kill you after I have some fun," Ryan said with a grin. He hovered right above her and kneed her swollen stomach.

"Stop!" Kate screamed.

"What? You don't want me to hurt your little bitch?" Ryan kneed the baby again, this time harder.

"Stop, Ryan!"

"Why?" he asked innocently.

"HELP!" Kate screamed as loud as she possibly could.  
-  
Jack thought he heard a "HELP" and stopped for a moment. Ryan started choking Kate so she couldn't scream anymore. He shook his head and muttered, "I need to get more sleep" and continued.

Kate pulled Ryan's hands off her neck and screamed some more.

Jack kept hearing these "HELP"s. As Kate's screams got more and more desperate, Jack knew that he wasn't just imagining things.

He sprinted down the sidewalk and saw that the door was wide open.

"Kate!" he shouted. Ryan whipped around and pointed his gun at the open door. When Jack came running in the doorway, Ryan shot.

The bullet whizzed past Jack's ear, narrowly missing it. Jack jumped at Ryan, but he shot at Jack again. Or tried to.

"Dammit!" Ryan hissed under his breath. No more bullets. He punched Jack and kneed the baby again.

"Don't!" Jack shouted and bowled him over. He punched him over and over again in rage. "Call the police, Kate!" Jack ordered.

Kate touched her stomach to make sure that it was okay. She wasn't sure.

"Kate, now!" Jack yelled. Kate hurried to the phone and called 911.

"The police are coming," Kate told him and handed him a steak knife. Jack took it and held it to Ryan's neck.

Soon, the police arrived and questioned them. Two policemen put Ryan in handcuffs.

"We need your phone number so we can call you later about this," the police said. Jack gave them the phone number and they left with Ryan.

Jack and Kate stood in silence. Then, Kate burst into tears and hugged Jack.

"It's okay now," Jack whispered softly. "It's okay."

"What about the baby?" Kate forced out. "Can you check it?" Jack was thankful that he took a medical class on pregnancy and babies. He examined her stomach and felt it.

"I'm 99 sure it's okay," Jack said happily. "We can take you to the hospital and check sometime. It should be fine." Kate smiled at Jack through her tears.

"You must be tired," Jack said and took Kate to the bed.

"Will you stay with me?" Kate asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Jack whispered and pulled the covers over Kate.


End file.
